Cab driver, his friend arrested for abducting, robbing Mumbai woman

The Dahisar police picked up the duo within 24 hours of the incident

A 24-year-old driver of an app-based taxi service and his friend, who allegedly abducted a south Mumbai-based woman in his car early on Thursday and robbed her, have been arrested.

The Dahisar police picked up the accused, identified as Niraj Chaudhary, 24, and Rajesh Yadav, 30, within 24 hours of the incident. Chaudhary is a resident of Bhiwandi while Yadav lives in Dahisar area.

According to the police, the victim, 24, lives in Colaba area with her husband. She boarded the morning local train from Churchgate and got off at Dahisar station. She was waiting for her friend near the tollbooth around 5am on Thursday for her friend.

Police said that the accused, who were drunk, approached the woman and forced her to board the car. They then made the woman call her husband and demanded Rs20,000 from him to let her go, a crime branch official said. The accused then disconnected the call and robbed the Rs10,000 cash the woman was carrying in her purse, her two mobiles phones and threw her out of the car on Ghodbunder road, added the official.

“She was scared and she returned to her home and narrated the entire incident to her husband. They then registered a police complaint in the evening,” said Sachin Gawas, investigating officer and police inspector of the crime branch.

After recording the statement of the victim, the police questioned more than 100 drivers who parked their cars and autos near the tollbooth. “Chaudhary parked his Ola car near the tollbooth and picked up passengers often. We laid a trap and arrested Chaudhary when he came there at night,” Gawas said.